GIRLS BASKETBALL: Coaching staff a big key to Spring-Ford's success

Spring-Ford head coach Jeff Rinehimer (center) and assistant coach Mickey McDaniel (in blue shirt at left) have the Rams one win away from a state championship. The Rams meet Cumberland Valley Friday night (6 p.m.) at the Giant Center in Hershey. (Photo by John Strickler/The Mercury)

ROYERSFORD — The fact that the Spring-Ford girls basketball team has reached the PIAA Class AAAA final is a tribute to the Rams’ roster of ultra-talented and ultra-unselfish players.

It is also a tribute to the Rams’ ultra-prepared coaching staff.

When Pioneer Athletic Conference and District 1 champon Spring-Ford (31-2) takes on District 3 No. 5 seed Cumberland Valley (26-6) for the state championship Friday night at 6 p.m. at Hershey’s Giant Center, it will no doubt be the high point for the 14 girls who suit up for the Rams varsity.

It will also mark the apex in the 19-year tenure of Spring-Ford coach Jeff Rinehimer, as well as his first-rate group of assistants.

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Rinehimer, right-hand man Mickey McDaniel (the school’s athletic director who is a volunteer assistant), assistant coach Jeff Mast, JV head coach Geoff Kahler and volunteer assistant Stacey Huntington will all be on the Rams bench attempting to come up with a winning scheme.

“They always push us to get better, and we couldn’t have made it this far without them,” senior forward Sarah Payonk said. “They always have our best interests at heart, and they’re a big reason why we’re playing in the state championship game.”

The 44-year-old Rinehimer has compiled a 320-166 career mark at Spring-Ford, highlighted by five PAC-10 championships, two District 1 titles and four trips to the PIAA tournament (all since 2007).

A 1986 Boyertown High grad who played for the Bears’ boys basketball squad, Rinehimer first delved into coaching at the tender age of 19. During his sophomore year of college at Alvernia, Rinehimer was informed by Crusaders athletic director Sandy Slabik of junior high coaching openings at Berks County school Conrad Weiser, and encouraged to apply.

After serving a seven-year apprenticeship of sorts that included three years as a Weiser junior high girls assistant, two years as a varsity boys assistant under Bob Hillegass at Boyertown and two years coaching Boyertown’s Junior High East squad, Rinehimer took over the Spring-Ford girls varsity job in the 1994-95 season, succeeding Tom Link.

The 57-year-old McDaniel, a 1973 Spring-Ford grad, has been by Rinehimer’s side for all but one season. McDaniel started out an an assistant to Rams boys coach Rich Simon in 1986-87, then assisted boys coach Dave Caldwell up until the 1994-95 seasons.

After a year off, he joined up with Rinehimer, and the girls program gradually ascended to its current lofty height.

“When I got the job I was younger and had never had a head varsity job,” Rinehimer said. “Stepping into the big time on my own, most of all I needed someone that was experienced. Coming from Coach Caldwell’s program, he (McDaniel) brought so many ideas on how to run a program and organize things, and that was something I really needed at the time.”

McDaniel’s chief responsibilities are as the squad’s “defensive coordinator” and drawing up inbounds plays.

Mast — the head coach of the Rams’ PAC-10 titlist golf team — is in charge of the team’s on-court rotation. Kahler, who like Mast has been with the program for the better part of the past decade, also provides valuable in-game input. And Huntington, in her first year, charts stastical trends using in iPad.

The quality of the Spring-Ford staff extends to freshman coach John Murtin, a tireless advocate of the program’s feeder system, and his volunteer assistant, Dan Brittingham.

Which is a big reason why, at this point, the Rams’ talent cupboard won’t be bare any time soon.

Rinehimer’s staff spends countless hours on all aspects of the game, from group film sessions to one-on-one work with individual players. Once the game starts, they can X-and-O with the best of them. A prime example came in Tuesday’s 53-49 semifinal win over Cardinal O’Hara, when Hinnant was switched on Lions star Shanice Johnson and the move paid off in a big way down the stretch.

“They definitely know what plays to call at the right time,” said senior reserve Kirsten Landis.

According to senior guard Brittany Moore, the message the Rams’ coaches try to deliver resonates loud and clear.

“They taught us a lot,” she said. “One of the main lessons I learned from Coach McDaniel was to always believe in yourself, follow your dreams and stay true to yourself. And another one from Mr. Rinehimer was to come out and play hard every chance you get and never leave anything on the court.”

The Spring-Ford staff also knows how to get the most out of the Rams’ players.

“They’re really good at motivating us and keeping us on track with what we should be thinking,” senior guard Sammi Haas said. “They’re just really good at communicating with us what needs to be done.”

“They have our best interest at heart,” echoed senior forward Courtney Hinnant. “They push us hard and want us to succeed. They want us to play our best.”

“Every practice they expect more and more out of us,” junior guard Sammy Stipa said. “They always strive for perfection.”

“They push us to play to our full potential,” is how junior forward Shelby Mueller put it. “That’s why they’re so hard on us, but I kind of like that, because it makes me want to work harder and motivates me to do better every game.”

And that motivation has resulted in the most memorable basketball campaign in school history.

“It really truly is like a family,” McDaniel said. “I would say the most rewarding part for me is having a chance to have a positive impact on their life in some way, and with the success they’ve enjoyed, they’ve allowed me to be part of that. I think it’s always rewarding to see, as an athletic director or coach, for any of our young men or women not only be successful in their program or sport, but also be successful away from that sport and do it with class and dignity. A state championship in girls basketball would just be icing on the cake.”